Investigating the Role of Household Water Storage Practices in Shaping Microbial Contamination and Diarrheal Disease Burden in South East Nigeria
Chinaza Gloria Diala
*
Department of Microbiology, Imo State University Owerri, Nigeria.
Okenwa favour Chigozie
Department of Microbiology, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Nigeria.
Temitope Racheal Femi-Olatunji
Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife., Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies (IEES), Nigeria.
Pascaline David Edim
Breakthrough ACTION Nigeria, Nigeria.
Idara Paul Willie
Department of Microbiology, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria.
Osarugue Ellen Imade
Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Nigeria.
Olanrewaju Ahmed Binuyo
Department of Animal Science, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, United States.
Similoluwa Mercy Ibishagba
Department of Microbiology, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In many developing countries like Nigeria, access to safe drinking water remains a major health challenge especially in Enugu state, because tap water is unavailable or unreliable. The majority of households store water for their daily use. However, this practice can lead to microbial contamination of the water, mostly when containers are not clean or covered properly. This study investigates how household water storage practices connect with water contamination and the spread of diarrhea cases in the South East region of Nigeria.
A cross-sectional study was conducted across 268 households in both urban and peri-urban communities in Enugu State. Structured questionnaires were used to assess and collect data on reported diarrhea cases and storage habits, while membrane filtration techniques were used to analyze sample water to check for total Coliforms and E. coli.
Out of the 268 households that were surveyed, 88% use stored water for drinking purposes, 58% relied on public taps, 62% used wide-mouthed plastic buckets, and 25% used containers with spigots. 36% clean their containers regularly, 27% covered their containers with tight-fitting lids. 46% reported at least one case of diarrhea in the past two weeks. 77% had E. coli, 29% reported no illness. 72% of water samples tested positive for total coliforms, and 48% were contaminated with E. coli. Salmonella spp. were isolated from 15% of the samples, and Shigella spp. from 8%.
This research highlights the importance of how household water is handled; it showed that even water from a good source can be contaminated if not managed well. It contributes to public health by drawing attention to how household water storage, including improved infrastructure, helps in keeping water safe. Our findings, despite its limitation by Cross-sectional design and the use of self-reported health data, offer insight that can guide improvements in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) strategies and public health campaigns focused on reducing diarrhea cases through safer water storage.
Keywords: Household water storage, microbial contamination, coliforms and pathogenic bacteria, diarrheal diseases, water quality, WASH practices